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Comment by scoutt | Hacker News Reader

"an array of tiny infrared LEDs wired to the inside of a baseball cap"

I had that idea some years ago, but using instead big powerful IR LEDs around a hat or cap to create a sort of white halo around the entire head. Never tested it...

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I built one years ago too. The issue is that many cameras nowadays have IR filters on them.

This works but gets you kicked out of all malls and supermarkets.

> gets you kicked out of all malls and supermarkets

Which is part of the much wider issue of "pseudo public spaces" - spaces which feel like they're public but which aren't:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-017-0048-6

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jul/24/revealed-pseu...

For women it might be easier if the LEDs are built into a hair accessory like a hairband. Less of a social stigma than a baseball cap. Glasses work too of course.

(Heh. I used Wikipedia to verify the spelling of 'hair band', but ended up on a page about Glam Metal.)

As if men can't walk around with some led-outfitted metal heads.

It might also be useful under the belt, e.g. on skirts or underwears, to thwart upskirting attempts.

Naomi Wu (@realsexycyborg) recently demo'd a "downskirt" cam for similar purposes. It basically shows the back of the legs and functions like a back-up camera on a vehicle.

https://twitter.com/RealSexyCyborg/status/103896197816802918... (slightly nsfw)

Thank you for giving me a compelling reason to try this. I have a stash of IR LEDs lying about and I've been intending to experiment with and IR-decorated hat for a good while now, but basically been too lazy. Now I have to try it!

Depending on your stash, why stopping at the hat? You can go full body IR and with a good IR-sensible camera you can achieve some nice (and fake and youtube-clicky) "poltergeist" videos!

You're gonna notice security guards following you while talking on the radio the minute you turn it on, but God bless you.

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